Wilmar Guarnizo

In the highlands of Tarqui, Huila, the Guarnizo family is made up of ten siblings, each with their own farm. Some are neighbours, while others are spread across the municipality, but coffee production has long been a shared family effort. At the beginning and end of harvest, when there is less coffee to pick, the siblings move between each other's farms to help with harvesting and post-harvest work.

Wilmar inherited La Vega from his father in 2002, at a time when there wasn't a single coffee tree growing on the farm. Since then, he has taken a leading role within the family, sharing knowledge, fermentation facilities and drying infrastructure with his siblings.

La Vega itself is a family operation. Wilmar's wife Tania and their daughter oversee fermentation, hand-sorting, cherry selection and drying, while Wilmar works alongside his brothers tending the coffee trees, introducing new varieties and conserving the surrounding forest.